Romania Ministry of Buddy & Barbara Braswell

Early Christmas for Sunday School Class in Vinga

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Today, Nov. 27, was our last Sunday before going home for the winter. We took the children in the Sunday School class their Christmas bags. They were surprised and pleased. Liji is pictured with the children. She and Catalina work together teaching the children in Sunday School.

Maria (in the middle) was just a baby when we first came to Vinga. Now she is 8 years old. Her baby dedication was the first one we attended in Romania. Next to her in black is her younger brother.

This little girl can't wait to see what's inside. She is new to the church. We have seen Abel and Dani (on either side of her) grow up and I taught them in Sunday School. Dani's little sister Lydia is growing up fast. She will be 3 this winter.

Below, Buddy shared with the church our goodbyes and assured them of our prayers while we will be gone. We will return in March of 2012.

Visit to a Nursing Home in Arad - Nov. 26, 2011

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The sisters in the church from Vinga Baptist and Osana Baptist wanted to do a project for the people in a nursing home. We decided on a bag of fruit and snacks. Enough was purchased for each person to receive one. Also, I had 15 blankets that were given to us by a church in Dothan, and we took them in addition to the fruit bags. There were 15 of us who went to visit, sing with , pray for and just encourage the patients in the nursing home. The ladies sung with us and many of them had tears as we sung. They appreciated the opportunity to have someone come and sing and pray with them. Bibles were taken and given to the ones who didn't have one. As you can see the lady in the picture below received a Bible, along with her fruit and blanket.

This lady also received a Bible.

This precious lady below is 103 years young!! She had a sweet smile as she posed for a picture with her new blanket.

This lady touched me. I watched her as we sung and she sung with us and tearing were running down here face. She was also very proud of her new blanket.

The group singing for the ladies.

One of the sisters from Osana church is sharing a few words of encouragement to this patient.

This lady was happy to receive a Bible and she began to read it. Pray for the Lord to speak to her heart through His word!

Our group is sharing another song with the patients.

This is one of the staff of the nursing home. Her face lit up with a big smile as she was also given a bag of fruit, along with the other 2 staff member there.

This was our first opportunity to visit a nursing home in Arad. The people there are lonely just as they are in the U.S. This time of year they receive more visitors but we need to be aware these people need visits all throughout the year, not just holidays.

"White Friday" in Romania - Nov. 25, 2011

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On Thursday November 24, we celebrated a quiet Thanksgiving Day at home, eating too much turkey and dressing and just having an afternoon of rest and relaxing, much the same as many of you did in America. Then all the peace and quiet disappears and you wake up to the chaos of "Black Friday" as it is called in America. The biggest shopping day of the year. Well in Romania neither Thanksgiving or Black Friday are celebrated, but we did wake up to a cold "White Friday" as you can see from the pictures above. This is ice on the trees and ground, it is not snow. As I write this the temperature is 20 degrees Fahrenheit. It is beautiful when you are on the inside looking out, but not so great when you are outside in it. We hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving and hopefully this year we can all remember to be thankful every day for the many blessings our Heavenly Father bestows upon us all, each and every day of our lives.

Nov. 19, Ladies Mtg.

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Tables set up for Ladies meeting.

Refreshments to be served.

Each lady went home with a gift for Christmas. They were as happy as the children from the Bible Clubs to receive something.

On Nov. 19, we held our monthly Ladies Meeting here at our house. We had 13 ladies in attendance and it was a blessed time of Bible Study, prayer and fellowship. Our lesson was on forgiveness and how important it is to forgive those who have hurt you. Scriptures teaches, if we are not willing to forgive then how can our Heavenly Father forgive us when we do wrong.

Baby Blessing of Ruben Daniel Balaceanu

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On Nov. 13, Buddy shared a message of encouragement to the family and church during the Baby Blessing (Baby Dedication as we know it) of Ruben Daniel Balaceanu, the son of the Pastor Bro. Florin in Agrisu Mare. Pictured above is Ruben and his family and the pastors as they are praying for blessings for him as his parents raise him up in a Christian home under the teachings of the Lord.

Missionary Getaway in Budapest - Nov. 7-10, 2011

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The Christian Hospitality Network, an organization in the U.S. hosted a 3 night getaway for the missionaries serving in Europe. It was an all expense paid (except for transportation to get there) time of rest and relaxation in Budapest, Hungary. We had a wonderful time. We stayed at a hotel on Margaret Island on the Danube River. On Wednesday we took a walk around the island and took a few minutes to feed the deer who are housed on the island along with horses and exotic birds.

Below is the serving line for the evening meal.

And of course the best part of any meal, desserts!!

This is a husband and wife doctor team who were among the hosting team. They gave free checkups to all who needed them.

Bro. Paul, who is the founder of CHN. He is sharing words of encouragement in the evening worship time we had nightly. He is a blessing by serving the missionaries with this gift of relaxation and rest who are faithful to serve our Lord the foreign fields. We appreciate His faithfulness to serve the Lord in this way.

Early Thanksgiving in Romania

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Due to the different schedules of the missionaries going home for furlough this year, we decided to have an early Thanksgiving meal on Saturday, Nov. 5. We had turkey and all the trimmings. 11 were in attendance. Everyone enjoyed the meal and time of fellowship. Among the group were American, British and Romanian. It was a great evening.

Nov. 2, 2011 Bible Club in Arad

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We had our Bible Club in Arad on Nov. 2. We shared a Bible story with the children and then we gave them their Christmas bags since we will not be meeting with them again before we go home for furlough on Dec. 1. Emma Balaceanu will continue weekly Bible Club meetings with the children until we return in March.

Passing out the Christmas bags.

Below are 2 pictures of the children looking in their bags to see what they received. They seemed to enjoy the gifts.

Honoring a Faithful Servant in the church

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Bro. Gheorghe Ille was honored on Oct. 30, for his 50 plus years of service in the Vinga Baptist Church. Bro. Ille and his wife are moving to Atlanta, Georgia, USA to be closer to their children. It was a day of celebrating and remembering but also a bit of sadness in saying goodbye to a faithful servant of the church. He served by working with the young people in earlier years and also as a Deacon in the church. He and his wife will be greatly missed. Nov. 2 is their departure date for the U.S.

Bro. Daniel & Dorina pictured with the Ille's.

Thanksgiving Service - Oct. 23, 2011

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Sunday, Oct. 23, our church in Vinga celebrated what we would call a "Harvest Day" Service in which special thanks for given to God for the blessings of the year and the harvest of fruits and vegetables of the season. Above the youth are sharing in song. As you can see the church has been decorated with fruits of the harvest.
Below is Nelu Fat, the deacon sharing a song and the word "Multumesc" is on the screen which is the Romanian word for Thank you. Thank You God for all of your blessings.

The ladies of the church share a song.

Bro. Daniel shares a message of How we should give God Thanks in everything! After the service we enjoyed a time of fellowship and had a table of fresh fruits and sweet breads to eat.

Oct. 9, 2011

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On Sunday evening, Oct. 9, 2011 the area village churches met together for a special service in the village of Sagu. Each church shared in testimony and song. It was a special time together to fellowship and hear the word of God shared.

Oct. 22, 2011 - Agrisu Mare Bible Club & Christmas Bags

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On Oct. 22, 2011 we held our last Bible Club for the year. These children are a blessing to work with. We have enjoyed going monthly to Agrisu Mare to share stories from God's word with them.

The children working on their color sheets.

Now for the fun time. Since this is our last Bible Club for the year, we gave them their Christmas bags. We feel they appreciated and loved the gifts they were given. Thanks to your faithful donations we are able to do this for the children. You will see in pictures below the faces of these precious children as they look to see what is inside.

These 2 pictures show the children with the stocking caps they picked out. They will sure help to keep them warm this winter. Thank you for the donation of them!

Oct. 4, 2011

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These are pictures of Ruben David Balaceanu. He is the son of Bro. Florin and his wife Gabi. Ruben is child number 5 for the Balaceanu family and was born on Oct. 4, 2011. The picture above was taken of him in the hospital. The beautiful blanket covering him was donated by a group of ladies from the Trinity Lutheran Church in Dothan, AL who have a sewing circle and make these blankets to give to the less fortunate.

Below is a picture of me holding Ruben on Nov. 2, after we finished our Bible Club. As you can tell he is a healthy little boy and growing rather quickly.

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The blanket covering Filip was donated by a group of ladies from Trinity Lutheran Church in Dothan, AL. Filip is pictured with his brother Iosif and mother, Amelia. Amelia allows us to hold the Bible Clubs in her apartment in Arad.

This is Pastor Florin Balaceanu and his wife Gabi. They are holding a blanket for given to them for their new baby due. Ruben was born in early October and is their 5th child. Bro. Florin is pastor of a church in Agrisu Mare. We have worked with him since 2003.

Aug. 27, 2011 - Logos Church Day Retreat

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The baby is tired after a long day of watching the older children play. Marcus is the youngest of 4 children of Clau and Ela, the leaders who came with this group of children for the Day Retreat.

In the picture above and below the children are listening as Buddy shares a lesson with them.

Below, the girls are practicing their gymnastics in the space walk.

Aug. 21, 2011 - Baptism in Vinga

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Daniel Fericean was baptized in the service on Aug. 21, 2011. Dani was a small child when we first came to Vinga. We have seen him grow up and now become a Christian.

Roxana is a young mother who was baptised also. It was a special day for her because she was supposed to be baptized in July and had a heat stroke and was in the hospital. She was thankful God spared her and allowed her the opportunity to follow Him in baptism.

Our Romanian Children

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Dani, Andreea, Lori and Diana came and spent the night with us the weekend of my birthday. They came on Saturday, Aug. 13 and then on Sunday, the 14th we went to church and carried them home in the afternoon. They still love to come and visit and we had a good time. Of course they went home with some toys and clothes. They seem to be doing well. Like our own grandchildren, they are growing very fast.

August 13, 2011 Day Retreat - Logos Church

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On Saturday, Aug. 13 we had 13 children come for a Day Retreat along with 3 adults. We had a wonderful time with the children. They played games outside, jumped in the space walk and heard a Bible lesson. The Sunday School teachers do a great job in sharing the Bible lesson with the children. Buddy also shared some magic tricks with them. It was a fun day. Here are some pictures to let you have a peek to see what they did here that day.

The children loved the space walk.

They also enjoyed the cupcakes.

Simona & Gina shared the Bible Lesson and sang songs with them.

Bay Springs Team July 26-August 4, 2011

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The Bay Springs Baptist Church in Dothan, AL sent a team of 7 people to work with us. Carla Woodham was the team leader. She served as team leader a few years ago when she came to Romania for the first time. This year the team included the pastor , Bro. Scott Wyatt and his wife Rochelle.
The team worked with Bible clubs in 4 areas. In the mornings before the Bible Clubs they went door to door to invite the children to the Bible Clubs and the adults to the evening worship services and to share the gospel through witnessing and sharing scriptures and their testimonies.
Below are just a few pictures to give you an idea of the joy that they brought to the children by sharing the love of God with them. In Agrisu Mare the children are having a great time playing with the parachute.

Working hard on coloring the caps.

The precious expressions on the faces faces of these children is priceless!!

Below are the children in Vinga as they are saying the pledges to the flags and Bible.

Now for the fun time with the spacewalk!

Below are the girls in Agrisu Mare wearing and showing off the caps they colored.

Below, after Linda G. shared the Bible story, Bro. Scott share the plan of salvation with the children in Iratos.

Linda H. shared the story of David and Goliath with the children in Arad and two of the boys dressed the parts to add visual to the story.

The children are sitting on the stairs coloring their caps.

This is the patch quilt made by the children. Each child created a picture on a square and the squares were all tied together with ribbons.

Baptism in Agrisu Mare - Aug. 7, 2011

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We attended the Baptismal service for 4 young people we have seen grow up during the 10 years we have served as missionaries in Romania. It is a blessing to see that they have now accepted Christ as their Saviour and are serving Him. The 2 girls are both named Emma and they are both working with the young children in Bible Clubs. Their brothers Robert and Emmanuel both are active in the work at the church also. Pictured above are Emmanuel Stefan & Emma Stefan with their parents, Avram and Sylvia and the Pastor, Bro. Florin Balaceanu.

Below are Robert and Emma Balaceanu with their grandparents.

Buddy and I are pictured with the 4 young people who are now children in the family of God.

Emmanuel, Robert, Emma B. & Emma S. during the worship service.

Buddy shares a word of encouragement for the Baptismal candidates.

Pictures of Donalsonville Team June 27- July 7,2011

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The picture above is in the Oltenia region of Romania. Fawn is sharing the story of creation with the children as Emma translate and Danny shows the pictures. One of the boys raises his hand to answer the question Fawn asked.

Below is Annice showing the children how to make the cross necklace with the colored beads that tells the story of salvation.

Mr. Troy is capturing the children working hard on their color sheet with his camera.

The spacewalk is always a big hit as well as the balloons with all ages.

On Sunday after the morning worship service we enjoyed a delicious meal in the home of the family pictured below with Fawn on the far left and her mother, Annice on the far right.

These are just a few of the many pictures that were taken on the trip. It was a blessed time for the team and us as well. You can read about it in an earlier blog.

The Beauty of God's Creation - Simple but Awesome!

2011-07-17T05:49:00.000-07:00

On Friday evening, Buddy noticed some unusual looking clouds and tried to capture the nature and beauty of God's creation with the camera.

How can anyone see the beauty of the sky and clouds and not realize the awesome power and the love for us that our God has?

Day Retreat for Agrisu Mare Bible Club 7-14-11

2011-07-14T06:44:00.000-07:00

Today we had the children from the Bible Club we help with in Agrisu Mare to come to Vinga for a Day Retreat. Below is a picture of lunch we served. We had 5 boys and 10 girls attend plus 3 leaders. Emma Stefan is the main leader of this Bible Club. Her father raises sheep and make cheese from the milk. He is also a deacon in the church in Agrisu Mare. Emma Balaceanu and Emma Stefan leading the children in songs as we prepare for the Bible Story. We shared the story of Jonah with the children and emphasized that you can not hide from God.

The 2 teams getting ready to paint their team flags and prepare a song.

Emma Stefan and her team working on the flag.

Beni working with the children in learning their team song.

Emma's team were the Sharks!

Beni & Rebeca's team were the Bears!

Emma Stefan enjoying treats from her gift bag.

The little ones checking out to see what they received.

Our group picture wit the children wearing the sun visors they made as their craft project.

It was a great day and the children had a wonderful time playing games, listening to the Bible Story, making their crafts, eating lunch and snacks and making and presenting their team flag and song. May God bless the word that was shared with them and it sink deep into their hearts so that they will grow in the knowledge and understanding that God created them to serve Him, He loves them and He sent His son to die and pay for their sins. Amin!

Day Retreat for Children from Bible Club in Arad

2011-07-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

Today we enjoyed having 16 children plus Emma, their leader and Emilia, one of the moms, come to Vinga for a Day Retreat. We shared the story of Jonah with the children, let them make a craft, fed them lunch and they played games. It was a long and tiring day, but very rewarding. The children seemed to enjoy it. Below are a few pictures we took during the activities. Barbara and Emma sharing the story of Jonah.

The children listening as the story was told so they could answer the questions at the end.

Emma divided the children into two teams. Each team made a team flag and prepared a song that represented the name and purpose of each team. Here is Emilia preparing the flag for her group.

Emma with her group preparing their song.

Emilia's group presenting their flag and song.

Emma's group presenting their flag and song.

I think Beni is having as much fun as the children. It was a very hot day, so the water was refreshing to the children.

A group photo at the end of the day!!

Baptism in Vinga, July 10, 2011

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Sunday, July 10, 2011was very special day for the Vinga Baptist Church and the lives of 9 people who have accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour. The ones dressed in white were the 9 persons who were baptized by Bro. Daniel Crisan (in the middle dressed in the black robe), pastor of Vinga Baptist Church. We were happy to be a part of the celebration of the most important decision one can make in their life. The next 3 pictures are youth we have seen grow up in the church. They were children when we moved to Vinga.
This is Andrei, his brother and mother have both worked with us in the past. It

is good to know he has made this step of faith.
Roxanna graduated from High School this year. She has helped us with Bible Clubs for many years as a helper and a translator.

Catalina was in my Sunday School class and so it a great blessing to know she has accepted Christ.

At the end of the service the pastor and other ordained men prayed over the people who were baptized. The prayer for them is that they will follow and grow in Christ and share their faith with others and also that other Christians will disciple them in the knowledge of living for Christ.

Team from Donalsonville FBC June 27 - July 7

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We enjoyed the 4 person team from FBC Donalsonville, GA. led by Danny Watson. It was a unique team put together by God. Danny has been to Romania 7 seven times, so this not not new to him. There was a mother and daughter, Annice (works with G.A.'s) and Fawn, and Mr. Troy, a gentleman who has worked with children for many years especially R.A.'s.
I say mission trips to Romania are not new to Danny, but the experience of this year was definitely new to him. He was excited last year to hear us share about going into the Oltenia Region and sharing the gospel with children who hear it for the first time. This got his heart pumping and his mind thinking that he would like to do something on that order. So we planned the trip with the help of a pastor, Iosif Zene, who works in the Oltenia Region. It was an experience that definitely got us out of our comfort zones. The team arrived all excited and ready to go, so on Wednesday, June 29, after Buddy had his stitches removed from his foot he had the cyst removed from, we set out on our 6 hour journey. When we arrived we were shown where we would stay by the pastor in the village of Miluta. The home we stayed in belonged to a family who are presently working in another country to earn money to complete their house. The house was nice and we had a bathroom with hot running water and sink and a tub and shower, for which we were very grateful. But the toilet was in the garden in the back. But we all survived that obstacle. The cooking and washing dishes aspect of the trip was a lot like going camping. We had a gas stove, which I'm not used with gas so somebody had to light it for me every time we cooked. And we washed dishes in a large stainless steel dishpan. After a few days, I finally wised up and realized we could at least rinse them in hot water inside the bathroom. It was not like the conditions we are used with, but again we are very grateful for the things God did provide, it could have been worse. The stove was set up in another house in the yard with was not completed, just basically block walls and cement floors with no windows and doors. We had a table to sit down at to eat, so this was good. We prepared food for 9 people each meal and with it being in a remote area there was not a grocery store within a reasonable driving distance, so we had to take all our food with us. That ice chest has never kept cold so well in all the times we've used it, but again God provided for our needs. With all that said, the true blessing came from the purpose of the trip, THE CHILDREN!!!

The team shared the story of Creation, The Birth of Jesus, The Crucifixion of Jesus and The Resurrection of Jesus. Each of the four team members had their part and they shared from their hearts with the children about the love of God and how He created them and sent to Son to die for their sins. The children listened attentively and enjoyed all the activities that went along with the Bible stories. Then the children enjoyed Danny making them animal balloons and getting a chance to jump in the space walk.

I think the total of the 5 Bible Clubs was 196 children and approximately 75 adults. Bibles were given to every child and to the adults who wanted one. This was a blessing to know Bibles were going into these homes so that the word can be read and studied and that the people may have the opportunity to read the truth for themselves and come to know Christ in a personal way and accept Him as their Lord and Savior.

So many pictures were taken during this week, I have not had time to sort through them and pick out the ones to share but I plan to do this at a later time, because I want you to see the future of Romania and how God's love was shared with them.

We appreciate the ones who prayed for this team and helped them to be able to come and share.

Agrisu Mare Bible Clubs - May & June 2011

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Agrisu Mare is about an hour's drive from Vinga. But it is a wonderful place at the foot of the mountains to minister and work with children. We love helping the 2 Emma's with the Bible Club. It is a blessing to see these young ladies have a heart for working with and teaching the children about the love of God and how to have a personal relationship with Him.

The children in the picture below are singing songs and making a joyful noise unto the Lord!

Buddy having fun with the puppet and the children!!

Barbara sharing the story of Zaccehus with the children.

The children doing their activity sheets.

Time for a little fun with musical chairs. I guess this game is universal.

The youth at Agrisu Mare doing their activity sheets.

The younger children on June 17, working on their activity for the Creation Story.

Anxiously waiting for the fun time watching the spacewalk blow up.

Patiently waiting their turn to jump in the spacewalk. This was donated by an organization in Louisiana who ships 2 containers to Romania each year. We appreciate their kindness and the children certainly enjoy the spacewalk!!

The children are blessed by the spacewalk. It is a joy for them and we certainly like to see the wide smiles on their faces when they see it and know they get an opportunity to jump and play!!!

Bible Clubs in Arad - May & June

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These children meet weekly in the apartment of Pastor Florin Balaceanu for a Bible Club under the direction of his daughter Emma. We enjoy going once or twice a month to help her with the Bible Club. We also assist her with providing supplies such as crayons, markers and teaching aids needed to carry out this ministry. Emma does a great job with them and we are blessed to be a part of this much needed ministry for children.

As the weather warmed up we have moved outside for the Bible Club. This club on June 13, 2001 was a special time because the children did a program for the parents to show what they have been learning over the past months.

Buddy - Surgery on his foot.

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Buddy's foot before surgery.

As many of you know, Buddy has had a problem with a ganglion cyst on the top of his left foot. After finding out what it was and having it drained 3 times while in the U.S. furlough it kept coming back. So he decided to have surgery on it. He had the surgery on June 20, 2011 at the Genesys Hospital Clinic in Arad. It is new and a very modern private clinic. He received very good care. The picture below is before the stitches were removed. It seems to be healing okay. It has been a slow process but part of that is due to the fact we had a team come in only a week after the surgery. I don't think he stayed off of it as long as he should have. Probably not the best planning on our part.

Logos Church - 10th Anniversary Celebration 6/12/11

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The Logos Baptist Church in Arad celebrated their 10th Anniversary on June 12, 2011 in the mountains. It was a beautiful service held in the setting of God's creation and natural beauty. That morning was a traditional service and then lunch was prepared and served in the afternoon. For the evening service Bro. Mircea Aioanei, the pastor, shared a little of the church's history and beginning and then each family shared their testimony of what the church has meant in their lives. God has blessed this church with many young families and strong Christian principles. We were glad to be a part of this celebration.
Logos is the church we attended when we first came to Romania when we lived in Arad, before moving to Vinga.

There is a camp near the area where they held the church service. We visited it with Angi and Flavius. The WILD HOGS are after Buddy!!

Sprucing Up for the Summer!

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June has been a very busy month. God has blessed with many activities of Bible Clubs and preparations for a team coming the end of the month.
Buddy took some time to spruce up the building by adding a fresh coat of paint to the back porch area. Also the back of the building needed fresh paint.

The stairwell going to the second floor was long overdue for a fresh coat of white paint.

As well as the upstairs bathrooms.

Now everything looks clean and fresh. You know our lives are like this as well. We need to take time to clean up our hearts frequently by asking God for forgiveness in areas where we fall short of what God expects from us and keep them pure and clean like a fresh new coat of white paint.

Bible Club in Agrisu Mare - April 30, 2011

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This is the church in Agrisu Mare where we go monthly to have Bible Clubs with these precious children.

Emma is leading the children in songs at the beginning of the Bible Club. Emma lives in Agrisu Mare and as a young teenager she has taken on the huge responsibility of teaching these children about Jesus in a weekly Bible Club.

Emma is the daughter of the pastor, Bro. Florin Balaceanu. She has taken on the job of serving as my translator for Bible Clubs this year. Her English is becoming more developed and she is doing a wonderful job. We have 2 Emma's, so it gets confusing. But the children love and respect both of these young ladies. I appreciate them and their willingness to serve the Lord in this capacity as well.

Now it is time to see if we remember what we heard during the lesson. This week's lesson was about Moses and God leading the Israelites across the Red Sea. The children love to answer the questions and do the word finds. The smaller children enjoy coloring.

New blog posts for April, 2011

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Just a note regarding the post on our blog for this month. I have made several entries. I know you realize the last entry is on the top, so please go down to the post titled "April 2011 Updates" for the beginning of these new posts. You can also click 'April' under the Blog Archive on the right side of the screen to see all the April post.

We hope you enjoy seeing a little glimpse of our work and ministry here in Romania. May God bless each of your for your part in it through your prayers and financial support.

In His Love and Service,
Buddy & Barbara Braswell

Easter Blessings, April 24, 2011

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Normally Easter is not celebrated in Romania the same time as it is in the U.S. It is usually at least one week or more later. But this year it was celebrated the same week.
We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. We visited the church we attended when we first came to Romania. It was good to visit with them and celebrate the Resurrection Sunday. We also enjoyed a delicious meal with them afterwards.

In the afternoon, we attended our church in Vinga. The children did a skit and it was really good. Many people in the church recited poems or sung songs or quoted scripture. It was a good service.

They asked if Buddy or I wanted to share something. We were not prepared because we didn't know they were going to ask us to share, but I shared briefly about 3 important celebrations in the life of a Christian. First we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, second we celebrate the death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior and third we celebrate the acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior, our salvation experience.
This is our purpose as missionaries to share with others how they too can personally celebrate the acceptance of Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

April 22, 2011 - Bible Club - Ministry of Osana Church

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The older youth of Osana Church in Arad held a week long Bible club for the children in that area. The children were out of school for Easter break. We joined them on the last day, Friday evening, for a special time of fun for the children and took the space walk.
Pictured here is Anna, going over the Bible verse with the children. She did a wonderful job teaching the children.

Now for the FUN TIME! We lined the children up by ages with the youngest first. We allowed each group to jump for five minutes at the time, with each group having two opportunities to jump. They had a ball. The little children, ages 2-4, enjoyed it as much and the older children. See the pictures below and look at the smiles on the faces of the children. I think we had as much fun watching as they did jumping.

Helping a family in Vinga

2011-04-25T04:57:00.000-07:00

We were told by the deacon in our church of a family in Vinga who needed some assistance. The lady needed a wheelchair and we gave them 7 boxes of clothes. Pictured here are 2 men in our church who went with Buddy to deliver the items. The lady in the red shirt is the sister of the woman who needs the wheelchair. We were grateful for the wheelchairs that were sent in this container. Most all of them have been distributed. In this picture is the lady's daughter and sister. We were glad to be able to help this family with the help of the generosity of others from the U.S.

April 20 - Container Distributions

2011-04-25T04:51:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday, April 20, we made a trip to Bozovici to deliver 45 boxes from the container for the people in this area. Bozovici is a three and one-half to four hour drive south of here. This town is at the base of the mountains. We work with a pastor there and his family. He pastors 2 churches in the area. They are pictured here with the boxes. Daniel, Raluca and Andrei.

Bible Club, April 18, 2011

2011-04-25T04:36:00.001-07:00

April 18, we went to help Emma with the Bible Club in Arad. This week our story was on the crucifixion of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. We shared with the children how Jesus willingly died to pay the penalty for our sins, even though He was sinless. He died for us, because He loves us so very much, that he bore the pain and suffering instead us making us do it even though we are the guilty ones, not Him.

After the Bible story we went outside and colored Easter eggs and also had a craft activity.

As you can see above and below, the activity was sand art on a cross. You peeled off the paper and it left a sticky surface and the children put colored sand on it and decorated them. They did a very good job.

Afterwards we gave them a small gift bag and refreshments. They loved the sugar cookies.

Space Walks

2011-04-25T04:27:00.001-07:00

We are grateful for the donations in this container of the spacewalks. There were 5 sent to Romania. Many children will be blessed with hours of fun jumping in these. The other 4 will go to other missionaries to use in their ministries in different areas of Romania. I know some of these missionaries will use them for the children in summer camps and other activities.

Buddy blew each of them up to make sure they would hold the air. Our neighborhood kids came to try them out. They loved it.

April 8, 2011 - Unloading Container

2011-04-25T03:28:00.000-07:00

Romania is blessed to have a group of people in Louisiana who want to bless them with their love and efforts of donated goods. We work with Johnny Huffman who is responsible, along with the help of many volunteers, for collecting, sorting and shipping the goods to Romania. We work on this end to receive and distribute the goods to missionaries, churches and individuals to help the less fortunate in this area.
Below are pictures of the unloading of the container on April 8, at our facility in Vinga. We had helpers of all ages to help with the unloading.

We praise God for all who were involved in this endeavor. Thank you very much. You are a blessing!

A funny story to go along with this container. The Hungarian truck driver brought the container and was preparing to back it into our property. He said "I have only been driving a truck for a few months. I am not able to back it inside the gate, you will have to unload it out here on the street." Buddy said "No, No, if you will allow me to, I can back it in through the gates." So he hopped into the truck and backed it inside. The trucker driver said "Thank you". Buddy was right at home since his previous job before coming on the mission field was truck driving. Then the unloading began as you see above!

Our New Grandaughter - Claudia Diane Braswell

2011-04-25T03:03:00.000-07:00

On April 17, 2011 our son Lee, and his wife Robin, gave us our 6th granddaughter, Claudia Diane. She weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. and was 21 1/4 inches long. She is healthy and dearly loved by her 2 sisters who are in the picture down below Claudia's. They want to hug and kiss her all the time. We enjoy seeing them on Skype with her.

This is Clara and Chloe. This picture was made on April 23, 2011 at an Easter Egg Hunt.

We have 3 other granddaughters, Kaylee, 16 yrs and Kellee 12 years. They are older siblings to Clara, Chloe and Claudia who all belong to our youngest son, Lee. Ashleigh who is also 12 yrs. is the daughter of our oldest son, Mike and his wife Amy.

We thank God for these many blessings of grandchildren. Buddy always wanted a girl, now he has six of them who call him Paw Paw!

Ladies Bible Study

2011-04-25T01:44:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, I began a monthly Bible Study group with the ladies at the church here in Vinga. This group has grown and continued to meet each month. They are in the middle of their third book to study. The book they are presently reading and studying is by Joanna Weaver, titled "Having a Mary Spirit". This book is about allowing God to change us from the inside out.. It is a sequel to "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World". I highly recommend both of these books. They have been a blessing to me and the other ladies. They are English written Bible Study books which have been translated into Romanian and I'm sure other languages as well.

On April 9, we met here in our home for the Bible Study. They normally meet at the church, but sometimes its good to have a change. We had 16 ladies in attendance. We had a wonderful time together studying the word, a time of prayer and food and fellowship.

April 4, 2011 Bible Club in Arad

2011-04-25T01:30:00.000-07:00

We have started working with a new Bible Club in Arad. Emma, the daughter of one of the pastors we work with, started a Bible Club in their home. She asked us to help her with it. We go 2 times each month and tell the story and do activities with the children. They are a sweet group. The group averages around 15-18 each week.

Below are a few pictures of the children. Here they are inside as we are sharing the Bible Story on April 4, of the Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. They were very attentive but also wanted to ask questions, which is good.
Of course Buddy loves to play with the little ones.

After the Bible story we went outside to play games and sing songs.

After the games and songs were finished, we gave them chocolate cupcakes and Kool-aid. They loved them.

April 2011 Updates

2011-04-25T01:21:00.000-07:00

Hello, Since our return to Romania on March 2, we have been quite busy. It is hard to believe almost 2 months have passed since our return. March was very busy with getting settled back in and cleaning up after the winter. As you saw the pictures on the previous entry we returned to beautiful snow. It did not last but a few days and then it was gone. March was still a very chilly month. The rest of March was busy getting utility bills , taxes and insurance paid.

In the next few entries I will be posting pictures of our activities for the month of April. April has also been very busy. I'm not sure where the time has gone, but God has blessed our time.

God bless,
Buddy & Barbara

Return To Romania March 2, 2011

2011-03-05T11:02:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Romania on Wednesday, March 2, 2011 to a beautiful white snow covered landscape and frigid temperatures. On Thursday afternoon it began to snow again and snowed through the night. On Friday morning trees were covered with snow and rooftops also. Above you will see the pictures I've attached so you can see what it looks like here.

We have been busy since we arrived getting back in the routine and taking care of business.

It is good to be back and we look forward what God has in store for us ministry wise this year 2011!

2011-02-24T17:15:00.000-08:00

Hello, It has been a while since we have posted any news. Things have been very busy but going well. We have been quite busy this month speaking and sharing in churches. We praise God for these blessings.

We are preparing to return to Romania. We leave here on Tuesday and fly out of Atlanta, Georgia. We will arrive in Romania on Wednesday, March 2. We ask for your prayers and we travel. We will rest a few days and then soon be back in full swing. March is the month to pay all the taxes and insurance on the building and vehicles.

We have several groups expressing an interest in coming to Romania this summer. Pray for them as they make plans and raise funds for the trip. Airline ticket prices have increased this year. We look forward to working with each group.

2011-01-02T17:53:00.000-08:00

We trust everyone had a wonderful and blessed Christmas. We want to extend to you greetings and wishes for a blessed and fruitful New Year!

Buddy had the fluid drained from the cyst on his foot 2 times. It was doing better but has now started collecting the fluid again. He will have it drained again before we return to Romania on March 1, 2011. The blessed part is that even though the fluid is collecting again, it is not painful as it was before.

We have enjoyed our time at home with family and friends and had a wonderful holiday celebration with them.

God has blessed with several speaking opportunities and we hope to have more in the next 2 months before returning to Romania the first of March.

One of the highlights of our time home is the annual event of me (Barbara) having my picture made with our granddaughters. I started this tradition in 1998 with our first 3 granddaughters and now the number has grown to 5. Below is the pictures we had made in Nov. 2010.

Pictured on the left are from left to right (back row) Kaylee (16), Kellee (12), Ashleigh (12), (middle row) Barbara and Chloe (18 months) and Clara (almost 4) (front row). The 4 girls together in the top right picture are our youngest son's, Lee, daughters and Ashleigh in the bottom right picture is our oldest son's, Mike, daughter.

We are busy making preparations to return to Romania and making plans for our 10th year of ministry to the Romanian people. There are so many needs and areas of ministry we can involve ourselves in. Pray that we will be sensitive to God's leading and direction of where we should focus our efforts in 2011. We are looking forward to the adventures we will embark upon as we minister to the needs of the Romanian people. A New Year of Ministry and Blessings are awaiting us.

Praise for SafeTrip Home

2010-09-29T14:07:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. We had a good flight home on Thursday, Sept. 23. We made all our connections and our luggage arrived on time. We thank God for his traveling mercies.

Buddy had a doctor's appointment on Mon., Sept. 27, about the knot on the top of his foot. The doctor said it was a cyst and would require surgery and referred us to an orthopedic doctor. That appointment is Oct. 7, 2010. We will update you when we know more.

Going Home on September 23, 2010.

2010-09-18T02:56:00.000-07:00

We will be returning to the U.S. a little early this year. Buddy has some medical problems and has doctor's appointments on Sept. 27 & 30. Please pray that he will get the medical answers and solutions quickly with no complications. He has a knot on the top of his foot and we are not sure exactly what it is.

This may be the last post for a little while, but I will update as soon as I can.

I hope you have enjoyed the pictures of the places and people we visited and ministered to this year. We have had a blessed year. You can e-mail us @ braswellb@globaloutreach.org with your comments and questions.

Thank you for your love, prayers and support of our ministry.
God bless,
Buddy & Barbara

Bible Club in Vinga, Sept. 11, 2010

2010-09-18T02:43:00.000-07:00

This is our last Bible Club for the year 2010 before going home on Sept. 23rd.
We had a small group, only 18 children but we had a good time.
Below are the children singing, smiling and laughing, and listening to the story.

Beni translated for me as I told the story of "Jesus Teaches us How To Pray".

Our Trip to the Oltenia Region - Bible Club in Ohaba

2010-09-18T01:54:00.000-07:00

September 3-6, 2010 we visited the Oltenia Region of Romania. It has 5 counties in that region. We went to Gorj county to the village of Valea. Valea is where we stayed in the home of Emil and Mariana Goaie. We arrived on Friday afternoon, had lunch and then went to our 1st Bible Club in the village of Ohaba. While we were there for our visit we held 4 Bible Clubs from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. The pictures below are from Ohaba and the next few post are the other Bible Clubs in Bolbosi, Conace and Valea. We enjoyed our time there. The children were precious and very attentive. Some of the villages don't have Baptist Churches, only Orthodox or no church at all. It was a blessing to minister to these children. The youth from Valea are conducting Bible Clubs in these villages named above and 2 others on a bi-monthly basis. Please pray with us that they will see these children come to know Christ as their Saviour. The youth liked some of the things we did and the way we presented the story and then gave them questions afterwards to review what they learned. I gathered up some material to send to them to use in the Bible Clubs.

Pictured here are the children along with the youth leaders, Romina and Miller at the end on the right.
Bro. Iosif is pictured here with the children as they are singing. He lives in Arad but goes to this area 2 times a month to serve as the pastor for the church in Valea and the surrounding villages.

The children love to sing the songs!

Below they are being helped by Flavius, our translator, and Nicu (in the burgundy shirt), with their questions. Nicu is the youth leader in Valea and helps the young people to go to the surrounding villages for the Bible Clubs.

They enjoyed doing the cryptogram also.

Barbara and the younger children we gave Bible Story books to.

The children were happy to receive the Bible Story books!

Buddy with the school aged children who received a N.T. Bible.

Looking at the N.T. Bible.

Preparing to leave as the children still gather and talk. We had a great time with them.

Below, Buddy traded this lady a N.T. Bible for her stick. She was pleased to make the trade.

The picture above and the one below are other ladies who were at the Bible Club, curious as to what we were doing, who wanted a Bible also. I told them they had to promise me they would read them everyday.

The next few post that follow are of the other 3 Bible Clubs we held,pictures of babies we gave blankets to and our trip on on Sept. 6, through the mountains. It was a blessed trip. We hope to go back next year.

2nd set of Pictures of the Bible Club on Saturday morning in Bolbosi

2010-09-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

I goofed up while posting the images and these pictures should have been with the others. Sorry, but hope you enjoy anyway.

Here the leaders which are both named Roxana are playing "Duck, Duck, Goose" with the younger children. Flavius, who was my translator, is passing out bracelets to the children.

The older children have their N.T. Bibles. Miller, the young man in the yellow jackets is also one of the leaders for this Bible Club.

Some of the older girls with Roxana G. and Roxana B. Both of these girls helped with the Bible Clubs and did a wonderful job. If you notice in the back on the right side, there were several mothers and grandmothers who came with their children to the Bible Club and stayed.

Working on the Cryptogram. They loved this, and caught on very quickly even though it was in English.

The smaller children finishing their coloring pictures.

Finishing up the questions and cryptograms.

At the end of the Bible story, I shared with the children how to be saved. I noticed several of the older children smiling and laughing so I asked if they understood. Only one child said he understood, and he seemed very positive about understanding. So I explained a little more detail and then asked if any of them wanted to ask Jesus into their hearts. Flavius led them in a prayer after I explained what you need to pray and ask God for to be saved. I'm not sure how many really meant it that day but several prayed the prayer. I asked Flavius as we were leaving the Bible Club did he think they understood what I was talking about. He said no, not at first, because these children were from Orthodox homes and had never heard the gospel presented. This was only the second time this Bible Club had met. But he seemed to think after I explained more they better understood. We pray that the seeds planted that day will be nurtured and grow.

Bible Club in Bolbosi Sat. am. Sept. 4, 2010

2010-09-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

This Bible Club was the 2nd of 4 we did while visiting in the Oltenia Region. Here the children started out with playing a game. The leader called a number and they had to gather into groups of that number. At the end the ones left not in a group were out. Getting ready to sing some songs.

Don't you just love the expression on this little girl's face, The one in the pink with her hands on her hips. I wonder what she was thinking!

Sharing the Bible story in the next 2 pictures below.

The older children are answering the questions from the Bible story and the younger ones are coloring a picture.

Here the younger children have received their Bible Story Book.

Sites you don't see in the Arad area much anymore!

2010-09-13T06:33:00.000-07:00

Since Romania has entered the European Union in 2005, a lot of changes have taken place. Some of those changes include animals not running loose and not being kept in the back yards anymore. This is enforced more in the cities and larger villages. But in the Oltenia Region out in the rural areas you can still find the turkeys running around free as a bird. And the oxen and cattle walking down the middle of the road!

And donkeys in the pastures!

Below: This is something rarely seen much anymore also. A Gypsy camp set up in a village. They had been there for over a month. You can't see it in the picture but under the tent is a gas stove and a small refrigerator. This camp was set up in the village of Valea. This picture was made on Saturday. They packed up and left the next day.

Bible Club in the village of Conace on Saturday afternoon 9/4/2010

2010-09-13T05:59:00.000-07:00

This was our 3rd Bible club in the Gorj County area of the Oltenia Region in Romania. This group of children was precious. They were overall the youngest group we had. Buddy is showing them his "pretend" puppy. I'm not sure if they thought it was funny or he was just a crazy American. Anyway they all were laughing. Here they are laughing and playing as we waited for the rest of the group to arrive. We had 18 total to attend.

Below: Now it's time to be serious and listen to the Bible story. We shared about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness and how he did not give into Satan's temptations. Costel, one of the youth from the church in Valea, is seated with the children. He is one of the youth who goes to this village to conduct the Bible Clubs each week.

The 2 girls are both named Roxana and they are singing with the children the song "Be careful little eyes what you see". They are also on the team of youth who conduct the Bible Clubs here with this group. The children love to sing.

The younger ones in the group are showing off their Bible story books.

The rest of the group get a N.T. Bible. Here Roxana is helping to pass out the bracelets. Each child received one.

Blankets donated will help to keep the babies warm this winter.

2010-09-13T05:29:00.001-07:00

Last year when we were home we had some blankets donated for the babies in Romania. The Ladies Sewing group from Trinity Lutheran Church made these beautiful blankets with lots of love sewn in. When we went to Valea, we carried some to give to the babies in that area. It is in the mountains and is very cold there in the winter, so we know the blankets will be very much appreciated for the babies.
Below this grandmother accepts a blanket for her grandson who lives in another village close by and her granddaughter gets a bear for herself and her sister. This baby girl is only a couple of months old.

Here is another little girl and her mother, who was given a blanket.

Below Mariana accepts a blanket for a neighbor's child who was not home. We stayed in Mariana and Emil's home while in Valea. She is a good cook and a gracious hostess!

This young lady and her husband work in Spain to make money to build a house. They, unlike many couples, do take their child with them. They were in Valea visiting his parents. The little boy seems happy with his blanket.

Bible Club in Valea on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 5, 2010

2010-09-13T00:19:00.000-07:00

These children are from the village of Valea. This was the last of 4 Bibles we held while on our trip to the Oltenia Region of Romania. In this photo the children are singing. They love to sing!

The children are intensely listening to the Bible Story. Our story here was "Jesus teaches us how to pray". We studied about the Lord's prayer, which is our model prayer. Most people in Romania know the Lord's prayer but don't truly understand it or the power of this prayer and how using it as a model of how to pray can change and affect our daily lives.

The children are getting an ice cream cone as they go outside.

We had 41 children at this Bible Club. Here they are eating the ice cream and playing in the church yard.

I think this little boy is enjoying his ice cream!!

The girls are sitting down and eating their ice cream.

The boys showing off for the camera!

These are the younger children after they received their Bible story book.

The older children with the N.T. Bibles.

Thank you to the churches and teams who have purchased Bibles and Bible story books to be distributed to the children!! They are a blessing to them.

Vulcan Mountains, Sept. 6, 2010

2010-09-12T23:41:00.000-07:00

This area is called the Vulcan Mountains. They are located in the Oltenia Region of Romania. The narrow road winds through this mountainous region. You wonder what happens if you meet another vehicle. So we decided to get out and walk to see the beautiful view.

Buddy stands in the mouth of one of the caves that tunnel through the mountains.

Iosif Zene, pastor of the church in Valea, and his son Flavius are pictured with me inside the cave.

Buddy is braver than I am so he climbs up a little higher.

The water channels through the caves. It was breathtaking to see it all.

See the hole in the mountain! It was amazing at the beauty of God's creation! As we were walking down the road I made the comment: "And some people think all of this was created by a big bang. That is ridiculous."

Beautiful Mountains in Romania

2010-09-12T23:23:00.000-07:00

These 5 pictures are as we were traveling home from our visit in Valea, Romania. Valea is in Gorj county in the Oltenia Region of the country. The mountains were gorgeous and the pictures certainly do not do their beauty justice. We came home on Sept. 6, which was our 41st wedding anniversary. It was a nice way to spend the day, traveling through the beautiful mountains.

Christmas in August for Neighborhood Children

2010-09-10T05:34:00.000-07:00

On August 31, we had an early Christmas party for the neighborhood children since we will not be here at Christmas. These are the children who live close by us and like to come and play in our yard from time to time. We had 8 children attend and Larisa took a gift bag for her baby sister. We shared a Bible Story, they had a question sheet for the lesson, a word find and a coloring page. We fed them pizza and brownies. Each child received either a Bible Story book or a New Testament Bible.

In this picture the boys are answering the questions about the Bible lesson. Also Dani and the girls are answering the questions.

Beni is translating for the Bible story.

The girls are decorating the door hangers we did as a craft.

Our Bible lesson was about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness by Satan after fasting for 40 days and nights. Here the angel is ministering to Jesus. We have enjoyed the flannel graph that was donated to us this year. The children really like the visual pictures. It helps them to understand the lesson better.

Barbara with Georgiana, Cristina and Larisa.

Beni is with (left to right) Sergiu, Marius, Abel, Dani & Roly.

The boys are looking at the N.T. or Bible story book they received.

In the next 2 pictures they are checking out to see what is in the gift bag. They seemed to be pleased with all the goodies.

Below the children are having a relay race to see which team can drop the coin, which is being carried between their knees, in the cup first.

We enjoyed the time spent with the children. Thank you to everyone who helped with providing the gifts or either monetary donations to provide the gifts for the children. You are a blessing!

Youth Fellowship August 28, 2010

2010-09-10T02:19:00.000-07:00

These first 3 pictures are of the young people from the Pentecostal church in Vinga with the exception of the first 3 people in this first picture. They are from the Baptist church in Vinga.

Dani the youth leader at the Pentecostal church is sharing a devotion with us. He is also a veterinarian.

Beni is sharing in song. Beni is from the Baptist church, where we attend. He helped us with the construction of the building and also translated for me in the beginning for the Bible Clubs and Sunday School class. He has worked in Spain for the last few years and in October plans to go to France to work.

In line for the pizza and desserts.

Enjoying the pizza and desserts.

Buddy is playing the game where someone chooses a cup and he guesses which one they picked. He guesses correctly each time. Do you know the trick?

More songs from the guys!

Youth from Vinga sharing . Both groups together to close out the evening.

We had a wonderful time with the young people getting to know them a little better. It was a good evening of food, fellowship, and worship through a devotional and songs. We always enjoy hearing them sing. Another youth group from Arad was invited but due to many of them being out of town for their vacation before school begins, they were not able to join us.

Fence in Vinga gets a face lift!

2010-08-27T00:48:00.000-07:00

This week our fence and gate got a much needed face lift. Metal was installed along the top of the fence wall to prevent deterioration of the concrete. Then Buddy and Nelu painted the fence walls white and the gate black. Buddy and Nelu hard at work painting the fence walls.

Aug. 22, 2010 Celebration Service for Renovations of Church in Cladova

2010-08-26T23:54:00.000-07:00

This is a picture taken of the Baptist church in Cladova as the renovations are underway. Here the new roof is on but the finish work around the eaves is not completed. The new bathroom (outhouse) is started also with a storage area. The work included putting a foundation under the church, replacing the roof and building the new storage area and bathroom. We were blessed by being able to give a financial gift to help with the work. This is the veiw of the back of the church.

August 22, 2010 Pastor Ioan Miraute welcomes the guest to the celebration service and gives thanks and praise to God for the work that was accomplished on the renovations of the church. He read a history of the church. It was started in 1903 and the building was constructed in 1909. So the church has a long standing history in the community.

Buddy shares how the church and village of Cladova have a special place in his heart and how it played a vital part in how we came to Romania to be missionaries. His first mission trip to Romania was in 1998 to work on constructing a church in the village of Cruceni. At that time the pastor of Cruceni also served as the pastor of Cladova. The previous year in 1997 one of the sisters in the church at Cladova shared a verse that God had given her with our pastor from the U.S. and told him it was going to be a long term relationship. No one understood at the time what all it meant and what all God would do in the coming years.

Bro. Tomeanu Tutu, a Romanian who lives in Arizona, U.S. shared a testimony. He contributed financialy to the renovation project. He shared it was God who was important in all that was done.

Beni and Dorina sing from their heart.

The Bodea Family shared in song and music. Dani was one of the workers who did the renovations.

The children are always a blessing to hear sing.

This family shared in song and poem.

A side veiw taken on Sunday, Aug. 22 after the dedication service.

A better veiw of the roof.

The new facilities.

Aug. 21, 2010 - A visit from the children

2010-08-26T11:07:00.001-07:00

Diana (in striped shirt on back row), Dani (in green shirt on the right), Andreea (orange shirt on front row) and Lori (pink and white shirt on front row) are pictured here with some of the children from the neighborhood, We went to get them on Saturday, Aug. 21 for a visit. These are the children who lived here in the "family home" for 14 months from January 2006-April 2007, when they went back home to live with their mother. They love to come for a visit. This is the second time we have gone to get them this year. We took them some clothes to have for school and took them out for pizza and bought them some school supplies (notebooks, etc). School begins mid September. They will be attending school in Arad this year, even though they live in an area about 14 kilometers from Arad. They will travel each day by public transportation on a bus.

Pictured with the children are from left to right Larisa, Cristina, Dani F. and Abel.

August 17 - Day Retreat - Logos Church

2010-08-26T10:46:00.000-07:00

This is the 2nd group from Logos church in Arad who came to Vinga for a Day Retreat. Here the group is playing Monopoly while waiting for lunch. They are from age 10-13. We enjoyed them being here for the day! Playing games.

Hide and Seek is always fun.

But eating ice cream is even better!!

Everybody loves ice cream!!

Ruth is trying to figure out how to best knock the stack of rocks off the bucket. This was a game the older children played earlier. She watched and this is her version of how the game was played!

Barbara's Birthday - Aug. 14

2010-08-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, Buddy invited some of our friends from our church in Vinga to join us for cake and ice cream.

The flowers I received for my birthday from the Fericean family. Giving flowers is a big tradition here for birthdays.

Bible Club August 14, 2010 - Vinga

2010-08-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

August 14, 2010 was a warm summer day in Romania. August is a big vacation month for the people in Romania. In Romania the people get one month a year for their vacation time or "Holiday" as they say. So many are taking their vacations before the children return to school mid-September. So our attendance was down for the Bible Club in August, but we had our regulars and we shared about how God loves everyone, no matter what country you live in, what race you are, or what your social class is. Jesus came to save the lost which includes every man, woman and child ever born into the world. One mother had faith in Jesus to heal her daughter (Mark 7:24-37; Matthew 15:21-28) even though she was not a Jew. She asked Him to have mercy on her and called Him Lord. He granted her request and healed her daughter because of her strong faith. He also showed (as an example) to his disciples that God wanted them to love everyone and help others even if they were different from themselves. We as His disciples of this day and age are to show the same love and compassion as Jesus did.

Children (in picture above) answering the question sheet for the lesson.

Barbara sharing the story.

Reciting the memory verse.

I am giving the children a Bible Bookmark that says God loves everyone.

The Bible lesson is finished and it is time to go outside for refreshments.

The ice cream is refreshing on a hot summer day. The children are enjoying it sitting on the front steps of the church after the Bible lesson.

Day Retreat August10, 2010 for Logos Church

2010-08-26T05:09:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, August 10, 2010 we hosted a Day Retreat for a group of children from Logos Church in Arad. There were 16 children from ages 4-10 and 4 adults, the Sunday School Teachers. We enjoyed the day and the children did also. They played games, ate hamburgers for lunch and enjoyed a birthday cake for Denisa's birthday. She was 6 years old. Below are pictures of the children enjoying the day's activities.

Donations for Moldova

2010-08-06T06:31:00.000-07:00

A local pastor organized a transport truck to take donations to Moldova, Romania to helped the victims of the flooded areas in the country due to heavy rains. We were the first stop of 8 locations where he will collect donations to take there. The boxes they are loading are from the container sent in July from Louisiana to help the needy in Romania. We pray these boxes will be a blessing to them. It is an assortment of men's, ladies, children's clothes, shoes, purses and misc. items.

Sopotul Vechi Bible Club, July 26, 2010

2010-08-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

The children are learning a new song.Raluca, our translator, with her helper teaching the song.
Barbara is helping by holding up the words of the song.

Passing out coloring pictures to the children.

Our Bible Story was about Joseph, his dreams and how his brothers hated him and sold him into slavery. They deceived their father, Jacob, by telling him Joseph was dead.

Container Delivery and Unloading 7-13-2010

2010-08-06T06:05:00.000-07:00

The Container as it's being delivered. This is a ministry we are blessed to be a part of. These containers are packed and sent from an organization in Louisiana to be distributed among the needy of Romania.

Opening the doors and seeing how the Lord has blessed the people of Romania with donations. It takes a lot of help to unload the container.

Boxes are unloaded and ready to distribute.

An 80 year old neighbor being fitted with 3 pair of shoes.

A young boy who was given a wheelchair. This is a blessing to him and his family who will not have to carry him all the time now.

Vinga Bible Club, July 10, 2010

2010-08-06T05:54:00.000-07:00

Some of our boys who attend the Bible club.

Roxana, our translator as she's sharing the story.

Abel reciting the Bible verse.

Buddy and our youngest Bible Club member.

More Camp Pictures July 7-11, 2010 - Hunedoara Timisana

2010-08-06T05:40:00.000-07:00

During the camp the children accumulated points by participating in different activities and events. On Saturday evening we had a store for them to use their points by buying items they wanted. The children coming in to buy at the store with their points.

It's hard to decide what to buy!!

Buddy sharing a few words of encouragement to the youth on Sunday morning. He shared you should always ask God for the things you need in your life.

Group picture of the campers!

Bible Camp at Hunedoara Timisana July 7-11, 2010

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Bro. Florin selecting the team leaders.

Camp leaders - Bro. Florin, Barbara and Lucia.

Opening Flag Ceremony.

Lunch - Soup anyone?

Our cooks - Alina and Gabby.

Making the Team Flags.

Small group time. Bible discussion on everyday problems and relationships.

Making sunvisors at Craft Time.

Volleyball is always fun!!

Free time.

Getting a quick nap!

Blue Team

Red Team

Green Team

Purple Team

Wise Men Seek Jesus!

Writing our Bible Verse on the Star!

Our Bible lesson on Friday morning.

The children are enjoying an afternoon at the Lake in Arad.

Relay Race at the Fun Day at the lake in Arad on Friday afternoon.

Construction Project in Hunedoara Timisana June 22-July 1, 2010

2010-07-16T05:23:00.000-07:00

A team of 3 men from FBC Donalsonville, Ga. came to work on a construction project at the church in Hunedoara Timisana. Above is the beginning of their work to frame up, hang drywall and doors for the Sunday School rooms. Below they are adding the insulation.
Below: Walls are framed up. Now a meeting to decide the next step.

Taking the drywall to the 2nd floor.

Hanging the ceilings.

Below: Let me scoot out of here while they are not looking!

Looking Good!!

Below: This is one way to do it! Beats carrying it up the stairs, don't you agree?

Worship service at Hunedoara Timisana on Friday night.

Youth Singing.

Getting in those tight places.

Bible Club in Sagu on Saturday. They are singing "I'm in the Lord's Army".

Our lesson was on the "Wisdom of Solomon".

Worship service at Osana Church on Sunday evening.

Back to work on Monday. A lot of progress was made the first few days.

Washing up for lunch!

Soup's On! Time to eat.

Getting the door ready to hang!

Doors are hung! Praise God for all the work the team accomplished through His strength!!

Time to clean up!

Jeff finds time to take a break and play with the children, Vlad and Denisa.

The children at Caminul Felix in Oradea.

On the last day before return trip to U.S. the team enjoys a walk in the city (Oradea).

FBC Donalsonville, GA Team June 22-July 1, 2010

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The neighborhood children here in Vinga always enjoy receiving candy from the team members, no matter how young or old. Above are Danny Watson and Bro. Ron McCaskill with the children. Below is Jeff Phillips. They are from First Baptist Church in Donalsonville, Georgia.

Danny is making balloon animals for the children at the Bible Club in Sagu on Saturday, June 26.

Worship service in Agrisu Mare on Sunday morning. The ladies singing above and the youth playing the mandolins below.

Below is Jeff Phillips with a donkey that belongs to one of the families at Agrisu Mare. The team enjoyed lunch in their home after the worship service.

Evening worship service at Osana Church in Arad. 2 young ladies prayed to receive Christ after the worship service.

Danny Watson pictured here with the 5 boxes of Bibles (330) that FBC Donalsonville purchased for the children of Romania.

We went on Tuesday to Oradea to visit the children's homes of a Christian Organization"Caminul Felix". The team enjoyed visiting with and interacting with the children.

Catching Up Again!!

2010-07-16T04:32:00.000-07:00

Hello, it seems I have good intentions to keep the blog current but we always get busy and it gets behind again. In the next few days I will try to catch up and post pictures of our team from Donalsonville, GA FBC. They did construction work on a church in Hunedoara Timisana. They framed up, hung drywall and doors for the Sunday School rooms, which were used for a Bible camp July 7-11. We appreciate the work they did. So did the children!

Also I will post pictures of the Bible Camp.

Then I will post pictures of the container we received on Tuesday, July 13.

Thanks for being patient with me and for being interested in our work and ministry in Romania.

The World Cup - Africa has nothing on Romania

2010-06-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

FUTURE WORLD CUP PLAYERS FROM VINGA, ROMANIA - Who Knows?
These children are are neighbors and they love to play football (soccer) in our front yard.

G.O. Missionary Conference-Retreat, June 10-14, 2010 in Bulgaria

2010-06-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

June 10-14, 2010, we held a Global Outreach Missionary Conference/Retreat in Vidin, Bulgaria. There were 3 Global Outreach families attending. Buddy & Barbara Braswell, Romania; Steve & Debra Richardson, Romania; Spas, Christina & Joanna Stoimenovi, Bulgaria. It was a wonderful time of relaxing, seeing some sights, Christian fellowship and worship. Each night we met and a different family shared about their call to and the work of their ministry. We sang songs, shared and prayed for each others needs. It was a blessing to have the opportunity to do this.

Below is a picture of our group at the Castle in Vidin we visited on Friday.

The 2 young ladies with our group are Karis & Hope Edwards. Their family used to serve in Bulgaria with another organization. We enjoyed having them with us.

This is an old Jewish Temple. It is a shame to see it in ruins.

Buddy & his new friend, Joanna.

Debra & Barbara inside one of the exhibition rooms at the castle.

Joanna loves the horse.

We have the wagon, where are the horse and driver?

Joanna, Christina, Karis & Hope.

The food was great! Anyone for a cool fruit salad?

On Saturday we went to Belogradchik, which is about one hours drive from Vidin. (If you don't turn around because you think you are going the wrong way. You'd had to been there to know what I mean. We told Spas he was becoming to Americanized in his humor.) The rock formations and old castle ruins were beautiful as you can see in this picture behind us. It was a great place to see.

Don't let that rock fall!!

Buddy praying before he goes climbing! (see next picture)

After all that hiking it was time to sit down and relax for a nice meal. This was not the hotel we stayed at. It was booked up.

Joanna relaxing.

The next few pictures were taken on Sunday morning at the Bulgarian church where we worshipped.

Bob and Becky Faber are missionaries in Bulgaria with "Salt Ventures". Bob was the guest minister. He preached in Bulgarian.

These next pictures were taken at the "Angelov Han" Hotel. This is where we stayed in Vidin.
It was a very nice rustic style hotel. This is the room where we had our meetings each night and breakfast in the mornings.

Karis & Hope

Buddy & Barbara

Steve & Debra

Spas, Christiana and Joanna

Our return trip home we took the Ferry Boat across the Danube river from Bulgaria to Romania.

May 29, 2010 - Bible Clubs in Hunedoara Timisana and Sagu

2010-06-20T08:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our Bible Club in Hunedoara Timisana. We had 13 children in attendance. Our story was about knowing what we wanted to be when we grew up. Jesus knew He would be our Savior when He grew up.

Each child was given a picture and they came up and told about what they wanted to be when they grew up.

This was Emma's first time to translate for me. She did a wonderful job. She is the daughter of the Pastor, Bro. Florin.

May 22, 2010 Bible Club at Sopotul Vechi

2010-06-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

Below are pictures of the beautiful children in the Baptist Church at Sopotul Vechi. They love to laugh, sing, do craft activities and listen to the Bible stories. We always enjoy going and working with these children. The attendance was down some this time but we still had a wonderful time with the ones who did attend. We did the same Bible story - Ruth - as we did in Bozovici.

The children are getting ready to pray.

Youth Meeting Saturday, May 22.

2010-06-20T05:27:00.000-07:00

Bro. Daniel Fisteag organized a youth meeting with areas churches. There were over 100 youth in attendance.

Each church shared in song. Below are the youth from Bozovici.

Buddy shared a few words of encouragement with the youth. He told them to always listen to God speaking to their hearts and to obey the calling He has for each of their lives.

A preacher from England shared the main message.

Bible Club in Bozovici, Saturday, May 22

2010-06-20T05:13:00.000-07:00

As you can see in the three pictures above the children are working intensely on their craft project. The boys made turtles and the girls flowers. They had fun.

Below they are showing off the finished products.

Our Bible story for the children was also on Ruth. They learned of her faithfulness and devotion to her mother-in-law Naomi. And also how God was faithful to Ruth and took care of her and gave her the great privilege of being the grandmother of King David who is part of the lineage of Jesus Christ.

Andrew - son of Daniel & Raluca Fisteag

2010-06-20T05:02:00.000-07:00

Andrei (Andrew in English) is the son of Daniel and Raluca Fisteag. Daniel is the pastor of 2 churches, one in Bozovici and the other in Sopotul Vechi. Andrew was born on Jan. 21, 2009 two months premature. You would not know it to see him now. He is a healthy, happy little boy. He is walking and into everything. He loves to open drawers and cabinet doors and play in the cabinets. He had to have eye surgery when just an infant and as a result now where glasses, but they do not slow him down one bit. He is being held by one of the sisters in the church in the top picture and Buddy in the bottom one. He loves Mr. Buddy.

Ladies Conference in Bozovici, May 21, 2010

2010-06-20T04:20:00.000-07:00

On Friday, May 21, we held a Ladies Conference in the Baptist Church in Bozovici, Romania. We had 20 ladies to attend. Our Bible Study was on the Book of Ruth. We talked about how Ruth was used of God even though, she had many things against her from the beginning. Some of which were she was a woman, she was from a country who was an enemy with Israel, and she was a widow with had no means of support. She was very devoted to her mother-in-law, Naomi. As Ruth 1:16-17 tells us, she was willing to give up her life in her home country and follow Naomi wherever she went and make her God her own. God blessed and took care of Ruth because her faithfulness and unselfishness and used her in the lineage of Jesus Christ through being the grandmother of King David.

After the Bible Study the ladies made greeting cards. They enjoyed this activity and were very creative in their ideas of design. In the pictures below you can see some of them.

We served refreshments and they always like to try something new and different. One of the highlights of our fun time in the conference was when we drew for door prizes at the end. I think this was something new for them. The prizes were just small boxes of American chocolates but you would have thought it was an expensive gift. They enjoyed it tremendously. It was a blessing for me to be with these ladies and I pray they were blessed as well.

More Pictures from Agrisu Mare - May 15, 2010

2010-05-27T06:14:00.000-07:00

This couple from England joined us for our Bible Club. Terry and his wife were visiting with Bro. Florin and his family for the weekend. They have been making yearly mission trips to Romania since the mid 1990's. They also minister in other countries as well.

Emma is helping the younger children with the Bile lesson questions.

Answering the Bible questions to see how well they were listening. Our story was about Hannah and how she prayed for Samuel.

Making our craft activity, a pop-up-card.

Going over the Bible questions with some children who came in late. We had a total of 21 children in attendance, plus 5 adults including Buddy and myself.

May 15, 2010 Bible Club in Agrisu Mare

2010-05-27T06:03:00.000-07:00

Buddy having fun playing with the children while waiting for others to arrive.

The children playing Simon says as they wait.

The children send their greetings to you all and thank you for your support which makes it possible to have the Bible Clubs with them.

The Children's visit May 8-9, 2010

2010-05-27T05:48:00.000-07:00

Here are Dani, Diana, Lori and Andreea. These are the 4 children who lived here in Vinga in our family home from Jan. 2006-April, 2007. They came for a visit for the weekend. They attended the Bible Club on Saturday and then church with us on Sunday morning. We keep in touch with them and try to see them a couple of times each year since their return to live with their mother. They enjoy coming for a visit to Vinga. They are doing good and are growing like weeds. They are in school and seem to be doing well.

Here we are waiting for our pizza.

May 8, 2010 Bible Club in Vinga

2010-05-27T05:23:00.000-07:00

Our Bible Story was on knowing what you want to be when you grow up. Jesus knew when He grew up that "He Was Born to Be Our Savior". The children are holding pictures of what they could be when they grow up.

The children are praying and thanking God for Jesus, our Savior.

Group pictures of the children. We had 55 children and 4 workers in attendance.

May 2010 - Looks like we are in the Chicken Business

2010-05-27T05:03:00.000-07:00

Above are pictures of Buddy's babies. Believe me their care requires as much attention as looking after a baby. The top picture is of a newly hatched laying hen. It was born on Sunday, May 23. 40 out of 60 eggs hatched and they are growing and doing well. The second picture is of the chickens we are raising for meat. We have around 24 of these. This picture is a few weeks old and they are growing and doing well. We also have 13 grown laying hens which are producing eggs daily.

Walking a necessity in Romania

2010-05-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

Walking is a necessity in Romania for many as a means of getting around. It has also become a necessity for us to help maintain our health. Buddy and I have started walking each day in an effort to shed some unwanted and certainly unneeded pounds. We are striving to watch what we eat and exercise to help achieve this goal. Please pray that we can be faithful to accomplish the task.

As we began walking the first few days it was just the two of us. But we began to add a small entourage of the neighborhood children. We have 5 who go with us as we walk. But they learned very quickly it was easier to ride their bicycles instead of walking. Smart kids! We are using this time with the children to teach them and help them improve their English and also invite the children we see along the way to our monthly Bible Club. The next one is this Saturday, May 8th. We had 22 children in April and pray this number will be doubled this month. Our lesson is on "Jesus Was Born to Be Our Savior". We will also share this same lesson in Hunedoara Timisana and Sagu at the Bibles Clubs on May 29.

Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers

2010-05-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

We wish each one of you who have the honor of being someone's mother a joyful and wonderful Mother's Day on Sunday, May 9. Also to the many women who do not have children of their own but who are a role model to children you come in contact with.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Catching up!

2010-04-29T04:14:00.000-07:00

We apologize for the lapse in posts to the blog. I have taken some time today to try to post some of the things we have done since returning to Romania in March. Please take time to look at the pictures and see what we have been doing. God has truly blessed each of the events.

I mentioned our calendar was filling up quick. Some of the events on the calendar are our monthly Bible Clubs for 3 villages (Vinga, Hunedoara Timisana and Sagu). This Saturday, May 1, we will be going with the youth from Vinga and Osana churches for an outing in Clodova. On the 15th we will go to Agrisu Mare for a picnic and Bible Club. Later in May we will go to Bozovici for a ladies conference and Bible Clubs.

In June our team from Donalsonville, GA. will be coming to do construction on the church in Hunedoara Timisana. Also Bro. Ron will be preaching several times while here.

In July we will do a camp in Hunedoara Timisana with the children from that village plus children from Agrisu Mare. We are expecting around 30-35 children ages 7-14. Please pray for God to speak to the hearts of these children during this time.

We plan to go to the Oltenia region the last week of July for Bible Clubs there.

We have special events scheduled for August also.

Please pray for us as we work with the children and share the gospel with them. We want to glorify the Lord in all we do.

Thank you for your prayers, love and support of our ministry here in Romania! God bless each of you.

Donations for the Needy

2010-04-29T04:04:00.000-07:00

We spent the morning sorting through boxes getting shoes and clothes ready to distribute to several different villages in the Arad area. Donations of good used and new clothing is appreciated by the people. Thanks to everyone who has given to help the needy.

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Below is a picture of one of our Romanian friends, Angi with her new baby Aliss. Aliss was born in Dec. 2009. We are pictured here with a blanket for Aliss which was made by the ladies group of Trinity Lutheran Church in Dothan, Alabama. Angi appreciated the gift. Thank you ladies for your time and love that went into each blanket.

Aliss is very happy at the moment. She is all smiles.

Day in Venice, Italy

2010-04-29T03:27:00.000-07:00

April 16, we went to Italy to buy food and ministry supplies for our teams and ministry events. While we were there we took one day and went by train to visit Venice, Italy. It is a beautiful old city. As you see below the water canal that goes around the city, it was a beautiful day for sightseeing.

We are on the bridge that crosses over from the train station to the old city.

Just for fun! Buddy and his new friend.

San Marco Square. Beautiful old buildings and lots of people.

Bible Club April 10, 2010

2010-04-29T03:10:00.000-07:00

The children in Vinga are enjoying refreshments after the Bible lesson at our monthly Bible Club on the 2nd Saturday of each month.

Bible Club April 10, 2010

2010-04-29T02:59:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from our Bible Club in Vinga April 10, 2010. We had 22 children in attendance and 6 youth as helpers. Our next Bible Club in Ving is May 8. Our Bible lesson was "Jesus is Eternal".

Returned to Romania March 11, 2010

2010-04-29T02:26:00.000-07:00

We returned to Romania on March 11, to begin our 9th year of missionary ministry. Our calendar is filling up quickly. Below are some pictures of an outing to Moneasa we took the younger youth of Agrisu Mare on April 8. This was during their Spring break from school. I taught them a Bible lesson titled "Being a Chrisitian, Living as a Christian". There were 14 children and 6 adults. We also had a barbecue with chicken, fries and of course "Mici", which you have to have at every Romanian Barbecue. It is a seasoned ground meat rolled up like a sausage link. It is quite good.
We had a good day with the youth in spite of the weather. It was cool but nice when the sun came out, then cool again when it clouded up and rained. But then the sun came out again, so God was good and smiled down on us.

Picture of our 5 Granddaughters

2010-04-29T02:20:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest picture of MeMaw and the girls!